This workshop will explore the various reasons why kids and teens may have a hard time opening up in therapy. Generation Alpha comes with the challenges that accompany technology and the pandemic, along with the enduring challenges including suicide prevention, trauma responses, the need for communication skill building, and trust-building. Understanding the obstacle allows the clinician to employ the most appropriate strategy to engage the youth or elicit the information needed. Participants will leave with a menu of options for encouraging conversations. Conversation cards, the use of games, puppets, whiteboards, humor, homework challenges, and strategic framing will be explored. The power of incorporating siblings and other family members will also be emphasized. Presenter will share her favorite phrases for introductions, assessments, invitations, and explanations.

This workshop examines the pervasive yet frequently overlooked challenge of secondary traumatic stress (STS) among clinical social work supervisors, emphasizing strategies for personal prevention and management. Supervisors often experience cumulative exposure to trauma through their supervisees, heightening their own risk for emotional depletion, reduced empathy, and burnout. This session will provide an evidence-informed framework for recognizing early indicators of STS and implementing individualized approaches to mitigate its impact. Through exploration of reflective practice, boundary setting, emotional regulation, and sustainable self-care, participants will develop tools to strengthen personal resilience and professional longevity. The workshop underscores that tending to one’s own well-being is not only an ethical responsibility but also foundational to effective leadership and the maintenance of high standards in trauma-informed clinical supervision.

Participants will be guided through a play-filled meditation experience where they have the opportunity to invite their inner children to put on their explorer hats and splash in puddles while igniting the essence of adventure and play back into their lives and hearts. The meditation will bridge with an emphasis of loving kindness: self-affirmation and building friendship. Participants will then have the opportunity to Learn Core Mindfulness Skills: Observe, Describe, Participate, Non-Judgmental Stance, One-Mindful, and Effectiveness through an immersive play experience, their desk/space will temporarily become their playground as each skill is invited. The Second half of our meeting will be a Social-Work Show and Tell: participants will have the opportunity to highlight an item that has been either an: inspiration, cozy comfort, sacred tool, point of passion, and a powerful quote. During the Share Circle: Participants will further practice core-mindfulness skills as they take turns having contrasting roles between the sharer and the receiver of information.